Tears and laughter filled a local church Tuesday as loved ones honored fallen Greenville police officer Cooper Dawson. The husband and father of three, died last week after being shot during a foot pursuit. NBC 5’s Maria Guerrero takes you inside the touching funeral service.
A Greenville police officer gunned down last month while in a foot chase was remembered Tuesday by friends and loved ones.
The Greenville Police Department said police officer Cooper Dawson was ambushed and shot multiple times as he chased after a man in a residential neighborhood on Monday. Dawson fired back, injuring the man, and later died of his injuries.
He was a true warrior and he went down fighting the entire way
Greenville Police Chief Chris Smith
Dawson's death was the first line-of-duty death in Greenville in more than a century.
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COOPER DAWSON REMEMBERED FOR COURAGE
Loved ones and colleagues filled Lakepointe Church in Rockwall on Tuesday to honor the father of three.
"He was a true warrior and he went down fighting the entire way," said Greenville Police Chief Chris Smith. "Cooper returned fire, striking the suspect, incapacitating him. I don’t know very many cops that can do what Cooper did that day."
Smith went on to say despite his critical injuries, Dawson, an instructor and SWAT member, applied his own tourniquet and then kept others around him calm.
"Cooper never lost focus. 'Calm down, we're alright, put your tourniquet next to mine. This is what you got to do.' [He] was walking people through how to treat him. I don’t know that I’ll ever see that courage again," Smith said.
COOPER DAWSON REMEMBERED AS A LOVING FAMILY MAN
Dawson, who was a decorated police officer in Garland before Greenville, was remembered Tuesday for being a family man.
Dawson never missed once-a-week family dinners with his wife and three children when working. Last Monday was one of those nights.
"We had just left from seeing Cooper at Chili's 13 minutes before he conducted the traffic stop," Aubrey Dawson told those gathered for the funeral. "I didn't want to meet him that night because I was already in my pajamas, and I did not want to go out looking that way. But I'm so glad I did it because when we left Chili's, his last words to me were 'I love you,' followed by a hug and a kiss."
Dawson is survived by his wife, two sons, ages 11 and 1, and a 3-year-old daughter.
"There's always been a joke in my family, that my dad wears the cape for being super dad, Cooper was always competing for that cape," said Aubrey Dawson. "But Coop, you earned that cape on Monday night. You died a hero."
A devastated police department and Dawson's family are now faced with the daunting task of pressing on.
"Rest in peace, my love. Watch over us. I've got the kids from here," said Aubrey Dawson.
Dawson's wife was presented with the American flag that was draped over her husband's casket.
COOPER DAWSON TO BE LAID TO REST NEXT TO ALLEN OUTLET MALL VICTIMS
During dinner, the couple shared a remarkable conversation, neither knowing it would be their last nor how profound the events following would be.
"He was talking to Aubrey about the Allen Outlet Mall shooting, about the officers that responded that day. On how, yes, lives were lost, but those officers took care of business. They ran toward that gunfire and they took care of business," Smith said. "And it wasn’t until after Aubrey had picked out his plot that she found out that two of those little girls who were killed in that shooting will be right next to him. They will have him to protect them for eternity."
The Greenville Police Department is small, with only 72 sworn officers. To allow the entire department to grieve, law enforcement agencies from across the state stepped in to patrol and answer calls so the department could attend the service.
